


Miles To Go

by Owlwithafringe



Category: Supernatural
Genre: Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Canon Compliant, Charlie Bradbury & Sam Winchester Friendship, Family Fluff, Gen, In the bunker, Mark of Cain, Research, Season/Series 10 Spoilers
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-07-18
Updated: 2015-07-18
Packaged: 2018-04-09 22:21:56
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,225
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4366397
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Owlwithafringe/pseuds/Owlwithafringe
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Charlie carried on speaking as if he hadn’t, though Sam figured grunting could hardly be counted as an acceptable reply in a conversation. “I mean, I’ve had my fair share of late nights and all nighters - thank you Netflix – but <i>this</i>,” She gestured wildly at Sam with her hand, trying to encompass the full meaning of ‘this’ without words, “It’s not good for you. I know you’re a big bad hunter, but sometimes even hunters need a little TLC.”</p>
            </blockquote>





	Miles To Go

**Author's Note:**

> _Context_ : Some point in Season 10, Charlie and Sam are staying at the Bunker trying to research the cure for the Mark of Cain. Dean is out somewhere, probably killing things or being nearly demony with his best chum Crowley. Not quite canon compliant, but you can probably stretch the canon a little bit and say it actually happened.

“You really should stop falling asleep whilst you’re researching.”

Sam jerked upright, face peeling from the page it had laid upon like sticky tape, ripping noise and all. If there was a little amount of drool dribbling from the corner of his mouth, then no one needed to know about it.

“Whu?” Not the most eloquent vocabulary that Sam had ever demonstrated but his brain had been consciously functioning for approximately four seconds, so he reckoned he could probably get away with barely English, one worded answers until he’d actually woken up.

Charlie sat in the chair opposite him, clad in a dressing gown like body armour and bed hair like an orange halo. In front of her was a laptop in the process of turning on and a steaming coffee mug that Sam was very seriously considering stealing from her in the hopes that it might make him feel any semblance of humanity. 

She carried on speaking, as if he hadn’t, though Sam figured grunting could hardly be counted as an acceptable reply in a conversation. “I mean, I’ve had my fair share of late nights and all nighters - thank you Netflix – but _this_ ,” She gestured wildly at Sam with her hand, trying to encompass the full meaning of ‘this’ without words, “It’s not good for you. I know you’re a big bad hunter, but sometimes even hunters need a little TLC.”

Sam rolled his eyes but decided to stretch first, whilst he composed a response that she could not argue with, in his head. The joints in his back cracked gratefully, but the awkward pain in his neck from sleeping on a book was sadly, not going to disappear that easily.

He flopped back down in his seat like his strings had been cut whilst Charlie typed the password into her laptop and pulled up her research from the previous day. Sam quickly ran his fingers through his hair out of self consciousness to try and tame some no doubt ferocious bed hair to rival Charlie’s.

“It’s not like I plan to fall asleep reading.” Sam replied, his voice a little hoarse from disuse. He opened his mouth to speak again but Charlie cut him off.

“No, if you had it your way, you wouldn’t sleep at all.” 

She spoke with an eyebrow raised and a faint smile curling her lips; but Sam could see deeper, past that to the tension and worry that lined her face. She hid it well, wearing that mask she had constructed for herself such a long time ago when she became ‘Charlie Bradbury’ but Sam considered her to be family, a sister to him, and if Sam knew anything better in the world, then it was his family. 

She didn’t deserve to be lied to, not when she was helping him. So he told her the truth. “I guess, in an ideal world. I haven’t quite mastered the art of not sleeping yet though.”

“I dunno, I think you’re doing a pretty good job at the minute. Before last night, when was the last time you’d actually slept?”

Sam honestly had to sit and think about it. He wasn’t sure if it was funny or sad. He leaned more towards the funny side due to sleep deprivation. “Two nights ago? Maybe three?”

“And when was the last time you actually slept in a _bed_?” Charlie asked, nails tapping against the ceramic of her mug. This time there was no hesitation in his answer.

“In a motel bed on my last hunt.”

Charlie snorted, but it wasn’t in good humour. It wasn’t in bad humour either, but it was a nasty in between that could easily become as bitter as Sam’s own laugh if he wasn’t careful.

“I’m not your Mom, Sam, but I’m telling you as a friend, as _family_ , that that is not healthy. You’re a grown ass man; I shouldn’t need to be telling you this.” She shrugged, looking away. “I’m getting a bit worried about you man, that’s all.”

Sweet Charlie, always looking out for her boys. Sam appreciated the sentiment, he really did, but sentiment wasn’t going to get him the cure to the Mark of Cain. “I can’t stop until I’ve found a cure. Dean needs it, and honestly Charlie, I don’t know how much time we have left until... until something bad happens. And all this junk? It’s useless!” 

“You’re not any use to Dean if you make yourself sick working too hard.” Charlie snapped unexpectedly, her voice cracking like lightening. She sighed suddenly, her anger draining from her leaving her looking vulnerable and simultaneously younger and older than she was. “I’m trying my best too, yannoe? And I care about you guys, both of you, so, so much.” She hesitated; obviously debating if she should say whatever it was that was on the tip of her tongue, but meeting Sam’s gaze with sad eyes. “I’ve already lost one family Sam. I’ll be damned if I lose another.”

Sometimes it was easy to forget that Charlie had lost so much too, so very young as well. She had more in common with him and Dean than they sometimes remembered and that’s why she was one of the very few people in the world that actually understood what Sam was doing, why she was helping instead of telling him it was a fruitless search like everyone before had. Even Dean had given up, not that he’d actually admitted it yet.

“You won’t Charlie. I promise you, not whilst there’s air in my lungs. I’m going to fix it.”

She smiled softly at him, an unusual blend of sadness, love and perhaps even a little faith. Faith in him. Maybe that was enough to get him through this: that one person believed Sam Winchester, the massive fuck up, the demon blood drinking abomination could actually pull it off, could actually save his brother for once instead of it being the other way around. “I know. I know you will.”

She took a sip from her cooling coffee before placing it back down next to her laptop, and Sam felt the shift in the air saying the conversation was now over, that the emotions were wiped clean. She smiled again but this time, it was the playful smile he was used to seeing on her. It wasn’t completely a real smile, but it wasn’t totally fake either so Sam counted that as a win.

“So you, _Samuel_ , are going to go to bed until I wake you up for lunch. Then we’re going to eat the greasiest pizza I can find _and then_ we are going to have a Game of Thrones marathon. After that we will go back to research, well rested with a better perspective on it. Ok?”

Her tone left no room for argument, despite it teasing nature and quite frankly he didn’t have the energy to debate it with Charlie, especially after that conversation, so Sam stood up and began to head towards his bedroom. “Whatever you say, _Celeste_.”

“Jerk!”

“Bitch.” The reply didn’t even use any thought, it was completely natural, like an older sibling teasing their younger one. Sam snorted at the thought, as he walked away he began to let himself believe for the first time since it had all started, that is might actually end alright.

**Author's Note:**

> Feel free to leave kudos and comments, feedback is always appreciated and motivates me to write more! Come and find me on Tumblr at **[Owlwithafringe](http://owlwithafringe.tumblr.com/).** , to see updates on fics or to leave me a prompt.
> 
> This fic was betaed by the lovely **Hummingfox**.


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